Stellar Shoe - Will buy more

I love climbing shoes. I have too many climbing shoes. And of all of the ones I've had so far, these are definitely my favorites. I've been a huge fan of the La Sportiva Miuras, and these are a step ahead in my book.

===== Pros ===== **First thing I noticed out of the box was that the leather on this shoe is extremely soft. Immediately after putting this on, it felt more friendly towards the foot than my Miuras did out of the box.

**Sensitivity has been pretty good. Not quite as sensitive as the 5.10 Projects or Blackwings, but better than the others listed, and any other shoes I've used.

**After a week or so of climbing, shoe seemed to have stretched and fit to foot. Hasn't stretched much since then.

**Heel-hooking is STELLAR. I was skeptical, but my current project requires a good amount of left and right heel hooks, and I'm amazed at how tight the heel holds to my foot. When I remove the shoe, there's a *suction* sound that comes when it pops of my heel, probably due to the slingshot rand.

===== Cons ===== **Height of the heel is just a little high, and if I set the heel in the shoe wrong, it puts pressure on my Achilles. A quick adjustment fixes this.

**The part where the velcro straps are sewn on on the inside of the shoe protrudes about 2mm, and the corners of the square leather piece can occasionally put pressure on the inside of my heel, below the ankle-bone.

===== BOTTOM LINE ===== Love these shoes, and the sizing was perfect. The Miuras in a 39 will go on my foot, but it's rather unpleasant even after break-in. Got these the same size, and they fit perfectly. Still a shoe that I'll take off after 2-3 climbs, but not uncomfortable on the first time in a session. After a long night of climbing and foot-swelling, the shoe gets tight, but, again, not too uncomfortable. Awesome heel-hooks, and sensitive enough for overhangs.

Typical bleeding of the dye onto my skin, just a slight orange hue.

Definitely will be buying more of these shoes, they're the first ones I reach for in my bag (that has too many shoes...) and the last ones I take off every day.